Cuddlr app moves things too quickly

Many couples, like the one pictured above, enjoy cuddling with one another. Now students can find people to cuddle with by downloading the Cuddlr application to their mobile device. -Mary Sergeant

Cuddlr, a location-based app that allows you to socialize and snuggle with strangers, has been on the rise for more reasons than one.

Whether you’re single, lonely or bored out of your mind, Cuddlr lets you meet random people in your area and encourages cuddling between you and that person with no pressure.

As most surprised readers may be thinking, the app has a potential danger when it comes to meeting and getting on a physical level with complete strangers, whether they live in your area or not. Cuddling is simple and satisfies human desire. It is an alternative for those who lack opportunities for hugs, kisses and emotional connections. Cuddling cannot be advertised.

This app is fairly new, but before we know it, dangers and risks will begin to come from people taking advantage of it. People who are emotionally discontent and desire affection and physicality are most likely to use the app, searching for those with similar wants. The app can let you instantaneously find a stranger to lay on a bed or couch with, which is an unsettling thought.

Using the app, only shows desperation from a person. Only desperate, lost and rebellious ones would volunteer to spoon with a complete stranger after meeting them for the first time. Same goes for the stranger.

“I would never use the Cuddlr app because you never know what people’s intentions are,” said Vincent Green, a junior informational technology major. “Cuddling and physical things like that need to be attained genuinely by forming that mutual connection with someone.”

There is something compelling about the app, though, since it went viral. News sources like The New York Times and The Onion have done reviews, features and opinions exploring Cuddlr.

Cuddling is intimate, making one vulnerable, yet people are relying on an app that encourages random folks to put themselves in that position.

Getting that close to someone new you met through an app can be neither real nor right. Our relationship to technology has grown so much that we trust apps like this to control what we do for a night or who we meet that could affect the rest of our lives. The Cuddlr app is a ridiculous social media tactic to meet people. Its authenticity is absent.

“Cuddlr makes its intent sound so innocent when it advertises that it’s about cuddling. We all know it’s for hook-ups and we all know it’s a sketchy way to meet people,” Green said.

The app even allows people to send “cuddle selfies,” a coded phrase for nudes. The app advertises itself in a slick manner, although its intentions are far from what it conveys. At least the app has safety measures in place.

“We ban anyone who is consistently using it improperly,” according to the Cuddlr website. “We don’t share your location until you’ve indicated that you do actually want to cuddle this person, and you can block anyone if you don’t want them to even see you on the app.”